ISBN- 1-885696-27-2

A Learning and Activity BookColor your own guide to the insects that crawl, hop and wing theirway across the plains, hills, forests, deserts and mountains of Texas.

1999 Texas Parks and Wildlife4200 Smith School Road

Austin, Texas 78744

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon maybe reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storageand retrieval systems without written permission of the publisher.

PWD BK P4000-043 3/99

Another "Learn about Texas" publication from

TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE PRESS

Learn about . . .

Compiled by

Chris DurdenCurator Emeritus of Entomology & Geology at Texas Memorial Museum

Editorial Direction

Georg ZapplerArt Director

Elena T. Ivy

Adobe termite

1 Coleoptera 38.54 Beetles2 Lepidoptera 14.89 Moths3 Hymenoptera 13.69 Wasps4 Diptera 13.09 Flies5 Hemiptera 6.65 True bugs6 Homoptera 4.25 Hoppers7 Trichoptera 0.93 Caddis flies8 Orthoptera 0.93 Locusts9 Collembola 0.80 Springtails10 Grylloptera 0.73 Crickets11 Mallophaga 0.66 Biting lice12 Odonata 0.65 Dragonflies13 Neuroptera 0.59 Lacewing flies14 Blattoptera 0.53 Roaches15 Thysanoptera 0.53 Thrips16 Psocida 0.33 Barklice17 Siphonaptera 0.30 Fleas18 Ephemerida 0.27 Mayflies19 Phasmida 0.27 Walking sticks20 Termitida 0.25 Termites21 Plecoptera 0.21 Stoneflies22 Manteida 0.20 Mantises23 Strepsiptera 0.18 Twistwing flies24 Dermaptera 0.15 Earwigs25 Diplura 0.09 Campodeans26 Anoplura 0.07 Sucking lice27 Panorpida 0.06 Scorpionflies28 Lepismida 0.04 Silverfish29 Protura 0.03 Telsontails30 Machilida 0.03 Bristletails31 Megaloptera 0.03 Dobson flies32 Embiida 0.02 Webspinners33 Scolopendrellida 0.01 Symphylans34 Raphidiida 0.-- Snakeflies35 Zoraptera 0.-- Angel flies36 Raphioptera 0.-- SnowskipsTotal 100.00

Relative Importance of the Orders Among Insects

2

Many people say they don't like bugs, meaninginsects and other creepy crawlies, because theyhave not stopped to observe them and to realizehow very few insects are really harmful. Insects aretruly facinating and watching their activities canprovide hours of fun. Insects are easy to find, sincethey are common in just about any kind of habitat.You can find them in your backyard and in any fieldor patch of woods, in lakes and rivers, in desertsand on the seashore, but almost none at sea.

There are Lots of Insects and They are Fun to WatchMore than half of all the animals known on earthare insects. There are more than 1 million (perhapsas many as 3 million) species of insects, while thereare only 1/2 million other known animal species.There are 100,000 or so species of insects native tothe United States. More than 1/3 of these have beenfound in Texas. Texas has more different kinds ofinsects than any other state.

Color the area onthe pie chart thatrepresents Moths.

0

1 Insects 42.002 Other Animals 29.003 Bacteria 9.004 Fungi 8.005 Single-Celled

Organisms 6.006 Plants 5.007 Archaebacters 1.00

Relative Importance of Insect SpeciesAmong All Organisms

Rank Name of Order Percentage of Species

Scientific Nameof OrderRank

Percent ofWorld Species

Common Nameof Order

Some insects are pests meaning thattheir way of life is in conflict with ours.

Some spoil or eat our plantor animal food, or destroyour possessions.

Some suck our bloodand spread disease.

American burying beetle with a dead mouse

3

Insects do a Lot of Good, but a Few are PestsLike insects everywhere, Texas insects are important agents that, overall, makeour lives better and more interesting. For better or worse, we share the planetwith them. Lets try to get along.

How insects are beneficial or good:

How insects are harmful or bad:

But, aside from being good or bad, insects are fascinating creatures to watchand many are very beautiful. Mosquito

Boll weevil

Without insects, we would not havepretty flowers to look at or fruits andvegetables to eat. That is because mostplants need insects in order to reproduce.

Without insects, we would have fewersongbirds, lizards, frogs and mammalslike bats, shrews and anteaters. Theseanimals would have nothing to eat sincethey all feed on insects.

Without insects acting as clean-up squadsand garbage collectors, dead trees andanimals would be piling up everywhere.

A Kind WordAbout Bug

The word bug hasseveral origins that havebeen punned together toform its present Englishmeanings: a true bugor hemipteran, insect-like, microfossil,microorganism, disease,defect, enthusiast,obsession, fear, hiddenmicrophone, asterisk, tosting or to molest. Bwgis Welsh for ghost. Buggeis Middle English fordemon, beetle orscarecrow. Boggle isNorth English for aterrifying apparition.Bougre is French for anasty fellow. Buz isSpanish for a hit, kiss ofrespect or sting. Bogie isa surprising event.Bogyman is a bugabooor fearsome figure. Theseother meanings areprobably responsible forthe general dislike andfear of bugs by peoplewho are ignorant aboutinsects. Let's call thewhole group INSECTSand save BUG just forinsects of the orderHEMIPTERA which canbug or sting you like abedbug with theirpointed mouthparts.This excursion intoetymology, or the studyof words, should not beconfused with the subjectof this book, entomology,or the study of insects.

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more stuff . . .

Honey beepollinating aflower

Frog catchinga horsefly

Harmful insects

An Insect Quiz

Follow this key to distinguish an insectfrom other living things:

Does it take on nutrients, increase in sizeand reproduce, using large moleculesbased on carbon, including DNA?

YES, it is a LIVING ORGANISM.NO, it is a mineral.

Does it grow from one cell to many,reproduce, move, feel and react?

YES, it is an ANIMAL.NO, it may be a plant, fungus,amoeba, alga or bacterium.

Does it have each side of the body amirror image of the other, at least in theearly stages?

YES, it is a BILATERAN.NO, it may be a jellyfish, coralor sponge.

Does it have the nervous system underthe gut?

YES, it is ARCHAEOGASTRAL.NO, it may be a starfish or vertebrate.

Does it have a thick outside skin of chitin(which must be shed to increase bodysize), segmented by thin folds of skinthat take up the slack in rings that beadthe body into a number of segments?

YES, it is an ARTICULATE.NO, it may be a mollusk, roundworm or flatworm.

Does it have segmented legs or otherappendages attached to many of thebody segments, compound eyes on thehead, and powerful striated muscle?

YES, it is an ARTHROPOD.NO, it may be an earthworm,tongueworm or tardigrade.

Does it have jaws on the second segmentbehind the head cap?

YES, it is a MANDIBULATE.NO, it may be a trilobite or arachnid.

Does it have filamentous antennae onthe head cap, but no second antenna bythe mouth, and does it split its skin alongthe back to molt?

YES, it is an INSECT.NO, it may be a pillbug, barnacle, or millipede.

Insects are mandibulate,arthropod, articulate,archaeogastral, bilateral,animal organisms.

4

How To Recognize an InsectA great variety of small animals exist that you might confuse withinsects. For example, spiders, ticks, scorpions, millipedes and pillbugsare not insects. So, how do you tell the difference between these creaturesand insects? (See An Insect Quiz to the left.)

Only insects have their bodies pinched in to form a distinct head,mid-region (thorax) and hind region (abdomen).

All but the most primitive insects have only three pairs of segmentedlegs, all attached to the thorax.

Most insects also have one or two pairs of wings attached to the sidesof the middle and back segments of the thorax.

Pillbugs

Circle the animals that you think are insects.

Head

Thorax

Abdomen

Spider

Flea

Aphid Weevil Butterfly

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more stuff . . .

How Insects GrowInsects change a great deal during their lives. These changes can be so drastic thatvarious growth stages look entirely different. Metamorphosis (pronounced metta-mor-fo-sis and meaning change-of-shape-process) is the name given to the sequenceof changes from egg to adult. The two most common forms of insect metamorphosisare called gradual and complete.

Gradual or incomplete metamorphosis

Here, the insect that emerges from the egg is called a nymph. It looks like a littleadult, not like a worm. As the nymph grows, it sheds its skin and after severalgrowth stages reaches adulthood. Wings develop from flaps on the thorax thatenlarge sideways at each stage. The young nymphs live in the same habitat and eatthe same food as the adults, thus competing with them directly.

5

Life cycle of a grasshopper

Egg Larva Pupa

Life cycle of a two-wing fly

Complete metamorphosis

Here, the embryo hatches from the egg without features of the adult. It usuallyresembles a worm and is called a larva (plural: larvae). Larvae shed their skins asthey outgrow them and increase in size. After a certain number of sheddings, theouter skin hardens into a tough casing and the insect is now called a pupa orchrysalis. Some larvae which are caterpillars, like those of moths or sawflies,construct a silk covering over the pupa and this is called a cocoon. During its pupalstage, the insect transforms itself completely, with some cells moving into theiradult position and the remainder turning to mush and being discarded. When theinsect emerges from the pupal case, it is a winged adult and can reproduce. At firstthe wings are soft and shriveled. They are pumped up with blood to full size, thenenzymes tan and harden the skin. Complete metamorphosis allows the young insectnot to compete with the adult by living a different life from the adult in a differenthabitat. For example, the leaf-eating caterpillar becomes a nectar-sipping butterfly.

more stuff . . .

Day 50-AdultDay 23-Nymph

Caterpillar

Where do you fit?

Adult

Egg

Egg

Adult

Egg

Nymph

Chrysalis

Day 7-Nymph

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Gradualmetamorphosisof a mole cricket

Completemetamorphosis

of a Gulf fritillary

Adult

6The Working Parts of an Insect: OutsideAll insects have three body divisions:

The head is concerned with getting food and with sensing what goes on in theinsect's surroundings. Thus, eyes (for seeing), antennae (mostly for smelling andtasting) and mouthparts (for feeding) are all located on the head.

The thorax is the body division involved with movement. Thus, the three pairsof jointed legs (typical for all insects) and the two pairs of wings (possessed bymost, but not all insects) are located on the thorax.

The abdomen is the largest, fattest section and it contains the organs for digestion,elimination and reproduction.

Evolution ofinsect anatomy

more stuff . . .

Exoskeleton

Molting of a stick insect

Head Thorax Abdomen

Front view ofan insect head

Molting split lineOcelli (simple eyes)

AntennaCompound eye

Mandible

Labrum

Insect ancestor

S5 S17

S18

S6 S7 S8 S9S

10

S11

S12

S13

S14

S15 S16

13

15

11

10

12 14

16

19

17

T18

1 2 3

A

S2 S4

S1

S3

5

46

78 9

Typical Insect

The head consists of: a cap oracron (A) in front with antenna (1);ocelli (2); eyes (3); mouth (4);segment S1 with upper lip orlabrum (5); segment S2 with jawsor mandibles (6); segment S3 withfoodfingers or maxillary palps (7);segment S4 with lower lip orlabium (8); often with additionalfoodfingers or labial palps (9).

The thorax includes: segment S5or prothorax with pronotalshield (10); and foreleg (11);segment S6 or mesothorax withforewing (12) and midleg (13);segment S7 or metathorax withhindwing (14) and hindleg (15).

The abdomen includes: segment S8 (oftenreduced or fused with the thorax in wasps);and segments S9 through 14 (simple segmentsusually without appendages); segments S15to S17, carrying gonopods (16) or specializedappendages for mating and egg laying; the lastsegment S18, carrying hind feelers or cerci (17)and the paraprocts (18) or frass shapers foreliminating waste. The anus (19) opens betweenthe last segment and the telson (T).

Insects do not have a skeleton made of bones inside the body the way we and otherbackboned animals do. Instead, the insect skeleton, called an exoskeleton, is a toughskin made of a horn-like material called chitin (pronounced kai-tin). The exoskeletonfits the insects body like a suit-of-armor with flexible membrane joints that permitmovement. As the insect grows, the body gets plumper, stretching the membranesuntil the skin must be shed to accommodate the larger body size. This shedding iscalled molting. There are several molts before an insect can mature.

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New

Oldskin

7The Working Parts of an Insect: InsideInside an insects body are the organsystems concerned with various lifefunctions.

The digestive system Y for extracting nutrientsfrom swallowed food and pushing out the waste asfrass. The system is basically a tube that starts at themouth (1) with salivary glands (2). The tube ofexoskeleton extends as foregut (3) to a crop (4) whichoften has teeth for grinding food. The soft midgut (5)is attached behind the crop where there are appendix-like sacks or diverticulae (6). These secrete digestiveenzymes. The midgut absorbs nutrients, which aretransported to the cells by the blood.

The circulatory system G for carrying nutrients to,and waste from, all the parts of the body. A tube-shapedsegmentally chambered heart (7) pumps the greenish-colored blood to the front of the body along the back.This fluid then circulates freely throughout the body,seeping toward the back as it bathes the cells. Thereare no blood vessels.

The respiratory system P for obtaining oxygenfrom air and getting rid of carbon dioxide. Tiny tubescalled tracheae (8) (pronounced tray-key-ay), carry airthroughout the body from small outside openings calledspiracles (9). Aquatic insects have gills as well to keepthe tracheae from flooding. Oxygen passes across thegill membrane into the tracheae. Gases are passeddirectly between cells and tracheae. Some larger insectssuch as dragonflies and bees may be seen to breatheby muscular movement. Some insects use air to makehissing sounds.

The excretory system X for getting rid of the wasteleft from metabolizing nutrients. The hindgut (10)excretes crystals of soluble waste products removedfrom the blood by Malpighian tubules (11) whichfunction like kidneys. This soluble waste is excreteddry and combined with discarded food detritus to formthe frass which is expelled through the anus (12). Thedry excretion of soluble waste allows retention of water.Some wastes get stored in the hard skin of theexoskeleton where they are used to make pigments forbright colors.

The nervous system B for picking up informationfrom the sense organs and coordinating behavior. Thereis a brain (13) at the head end. A double nerve cordruns the length of the underside of the body. There arenerve centers or ganglia (14) in each segment to controlvarious parts of the body. Because of these extra brains,an ant that has lost its head will still walk.

The reproductive system for the production of futuregenerations. Females have two ovaries with eggs, andmales have two testes and an organ for mating. Femalesmate and save sperm to use later. In most insects, eggsare fertilized as they are laid. Some insects layunfertilized, yet viable, eggs. This process is calledparthenogenesis. Many insects may be parthenogenicin summer but produce males for sexual reproductionin winter.

G - Color the blood vessel green.Y - Color the digestive system yellow.X - Color the excretory system (Malpighian tubes) redB - Color the nervous system blue.P - Color the air tubes of the respiratory system pink.

G

Y

P

B

X

Y

Y

G

B

BB

Side view of the interior of a grasshopper.

Bottom-up view of the interior of a grasshopper.

Cross-section (a-a) of the interior of a grasshopper.B

a

a

The alimentary canal (Y), silk gland, dorsal bloodvessel (G) and ventral nerve cord (B) of a caterpillar.

Y

Y

BSilk gland

G

Wing

Leg

Color Guide

B

B

1

3 4 5

11

7

8

9

a

a

13

13

13

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12

14 14 14 14 14 14 14

10

12

2

6

B

8How Insects Smell, Taste, See and HearSmelling and tasting are most important to insects.They are chemical senses that use nerve sensors torecognize molecules. Insects use smell and taste torecognize others of the same species, distinguishmales from females, locate suitable foods and followtrails back to the nest.

Molecules carried by breezes land on nerve sensorson the antennae where they are identified as smells.Male silk moths smell pheromone (pronounced fer-oh-moan) molecules released by a female miles awayand fly to her. Sexton beetles can smell a dead mousemany yards away and fly to it to lay their eggs onthis food and bury it.

Other insects taste flavors by touching membranesto foods. Beetles and cockroaches taste with theirmouth palps. Butterflies taste leaves with organs ontheir feet to identify suitable caterpillar food onwhich to lay eggs. Ants use their antennae to tastethe chemical trails marked for them by fellowworkers.

Seeing is also very important to insects. This physicalsense is based on the intensity, color wavelengthand polarization of light.

Simple eyes, or ocelli, are present in most larvalinsects and many adults where there may be up tothree. They are used to distinguish day from night,and determine the polarization of light which isused to tell time or direction.

Compound eyes are found in the adults of insectsand other arthropods. The individual eyelets areclose-packed honeycomb-like to form a compoundeye with six-sided lens facets of clear thick cuticle.Under each facet, an eyelet has its own receptor andoptic nerve. We do not know how an insect putsthese individual pictures together in its brain. Wedo not know what a bee actually sees. Compoundeyes are good for detecting minute movement. Theyalso sense colors but in different parts of the spectrumthan we do. Thus bees and butterflies see the hiddenultraviolet patterns in flowers.

Hearing is another important sense for manydifferent insects. Most insects hear by sensing thevibration of small hairs or membranes on the skin.Grasshoppers, crickets and cicadas signal theirpresence by making noise with ratchets or vibratingmembranes. They make noise to communicate theirpresence or attract mates. Crickets and mantiseshave membrane organs on the front legs that functionas ears. Grasshoppers and cicadas have ears on theabdomen. Many moths have ears on either the thoraxor abdomen, tuned to the frequencies of bats, theirmost serious predators.

Close-up of eye

Compound eye Simple eye

Variety of insectantennae

Honeycomb six-sided lens facets

Under each facet eacheyelet has its own receptorand optic nerve.

Crickets and mantises havemembrane organs on the frontlegs that function as ears.

Grasshoppers singby bowing the rigidforewing with a ratcheton the inner side oftheir hindleg.

Ratchet

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9How Insects FlyMost insects have wings and can fly. Insects were the first organisms to evolve wings 325 million yearsago in the middle of the Carboniferous Period. Wings helped their owners escape from the predatoryarachnids (spiders and their relatives) and vertebrates that proliferated at that time. Wings may havefirst served as a shield for the soft abdomen, then as a parachute. They also serve as a radiator-receptorto warm the blood in sunlight on a cold day.

The wing is a cell sandwich with tracheal air tubes and blood pathways between upper and lowercuticle. The cuticle is thickened, usually over blood vessels and tracheae to form veins. These veins arestruts that permit long and strong yet flexible wings.

Wing Microstructure

More advanced fliers, like butterflies, fliesand bees, use only a single set of muscles.

In order to move the wings, primitive insects likemayflies and dragonflies use two sets of muscles.

Cockroach wing

tracheal air tubes

blood pathways

veins

Insects that have powerflight use hooks or othermethods to lock their wingpairs together in flight.

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Folding pattern

Open wing

front/costa

front/costa

back

back

Wasps use a hymenor row-of-hooks.

Moths use afrenulum orspike-in-bracket.

Bugs use a sulcusor folded margin.

Wings up

Wings down

Contracted muscles

Relaxed muscles

Contracted muscles

Relaxed muscles

Wings up

Wings down

Contracted muscles

Relaxed muscles

Spring stressed

Sp

ringrelaxed

Advanced Wing StructurePrimitive Wing Structure

Grasshoppers, crickets, fleas, leafhoppers, leaf beetles and otherjumpers have muscular femurs and long propelling tibias.

Tiger beetles, ants, cockroaches and other runners have long legsin strong sockets.

Chafers and other tree-climbing beetles have strong turned-backclaws for grasping twigs and leaves.

Hanging flies have similar recurved claws for capturing andholding prey.

Water beetles and water bugs have paddles or hair-fringed flippersfor swimming.

Pond striders, caddis flies and other pontoon walkers have fringedfeet that hold air-bubble floats permitting walking on water.

Flies and other crawlers on smooth leaves or skin have dry adhesivepads that cling to glass with a molecular bond the same way thatplastic wrap does.

Mantises, mantis flies, assassin bugs and other hunting insectshave a forelimb with a spined and muscular femur and opposingtibia for grabbing prey.

The usual insect walk is accomplished with reaching forelegs,stabilizing midlegs and pushing hindlegs. The majority of insectshave other specialized functions for one or more pairs of legs. Inaddition to those already mentioned these include digging,clasping, signaling and disguise.

The shapes and proportions of the variousparts that go to make up an insects leg vary,depending on its way of life:

10

How Insects MoveMost adult insects, nymphs and many larvae have three pairs of legs, one for each segment of the middlesection of the body called the thorax.

When an insect walks it never lifts more than one or two legs at a time. This gives the insect walk awavelike motion. Each pair of legs performs a specific function. The forelegs reach ahead, the hindlegspush, while the midlegs act as stabilizers.

JumperGrasshopper

SwimmerWater-strider

GrabberPraying Mantis

Three-leg system ofa cockroach

Names of the parts of your leg

Femur

Tibia

Foot

The many legs of primitive insects(view of abdominal leglets and

tubercle organs)

Reach and pull

Balance

Push

Toe Nail

RunnerCockroach

The usual insect leg consists of five parts:The coxa joins the leg to the body and is oftenfused with the body.The trochanter is a small joint permitting theleg to rotate foreward and back.The femur looks like a thigh and is usually large.The tibia looks like a shin.The tarsus looks like a foot with up to 5segments. It ends in a claw or pair of claws.Many insects have hairy or sticky pads on thetarsal segments for traction and tasting. Allsegments of the leg may have articulated spinesor rigid teeth for traction or protection.

Coxa

Trochanter

Femur

Tibia

Tarsus

Claw

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11

Bee Butterfly FlyMosquito

Piercing / Sucking:most true bugs, leafhoppers,treehoppers, mosquitoes,fleas and horseflies

Sponging:houseflies andstableflies

Chewing / Lapping:bees and some wasps

Siphoning:butterflies andmoths

How Insects FeedInsects feed on all sorts of organic materials. Some bite and chew plant materials, others are huntersor scavengers that eat meat (usually other insects), still others suck plant juices or blood. There are evenmidge larvae that feed on crude oil in tar seeps, digesting it with bacteria in the gut.Biting and chewing mouthparts consisting of several pairs of jaws and jaw-like structures moving fromside to side are the basic kind found in insects. These mouthparts evolved from the jointed legs of thefront segments of the early ancestor of insects. Biting and chewing mouthparts are common to beetles,grasshoppers, cockroaches, termites and most wingless primitive insects.

A - The acron is the front-end head cap. It is divided on top by a Y-shapedepicranial suture, found only in insects.

o - The three ocelli or little eyes.a - The antennae or feelers.e - The compound eyes or big eyes.M - The mouth opens between acron and segment 1 underneath.1 - The labrum is the movable upper lip on segment 1 that is joined to the

acron behind and around the mouth.2 - The mandible is the limb of segment 2 which also bears the tongue.3 - The maxilla is the limb of segment 3. It has a coxa of two segments. The

mandible-like lacinia is attached to the inside of the coxa. The palp-likegalea is attached to the end of the coxa. The leg-like maxillary palp (3a)is attached to the outer side of the coxa. This jointed palp has its trochanterattached to the coxa, followed by femur, tibia, tarsus and pretarsus, justlike a leg.

4 - The labium is the limb of segment 4. It has a coxa of two segments. Thelip-like glossa is attached to the outer segment on its inner edge. The palp-like paraglossa is attached to the end of the same segment. The leg-likelabial palp (4a) is attached to the outer edge of the same segment. Thisjointed palp has a trochanter, followed by a femur and tibiotarsus.

A

a

M

12 3

4

o

1 2 3 4

e

This basic kind of chewing structure is modified in other groups of insects. Usually the modifiedmouthparts take on a thin, long, piercing and/or sucking shape.

Modified Mouthparts

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Basic Kind of Insect Head and Mouth Structure

4a

3a

12

Major Features of the Evolution of InsectsIn Cambrian times, 570 million years ago, a kind of marine crustaceanadapted to life in beach pools, caves and freshwater ponds. This mayhave been an agnostid or an ostracod.

The first insects were entomostracans or tiny shrimp-like animals thatlived in caves or in damp earth between the rocks sometime between thelate Cambrian and the Silurian, from about 535 to 440 million years ago.They stopped being crustaceans when the organization of the head, withone pair of antennae, reached that of insects and when the molt line wasrestricted to the back and neck. At first they had to be small, as oxygenreached the body cells only by diffusion through the skin.

They evolved inpocketing of the skin which formed tubes that broughtfresh air through a branching network of tracheal tubes to serve cellsdeep within the body. This allowed an increase of body size that broughtinsects out from under rocks and exposed them to the predators of thetime. These predators were only arachnids and centipedes until the endof the Devonian, about 350 million years ago, when vertebrates came outon the land. To evade predators, the early insects evolved different bodystyles and ways of life. They fed on fungus, lichen, algae, decaying plantmatter, worms and small arachnids. From this early radiation, symphylans,diplurans, proturans, bristletails and springtails have survived.

By the early Devonian, 390 million years ago, some insects evolved astronger jaw. The two sockets on which the jaw now moved allowedstrong muscles and precise biting. Woody plants, armored arthropods,shelled snails and active amphibians became potential food. From thisstage, silverfish have survived.

By mid-Carboniferous time, 325 million years ago, some insects specializedfor amphibious or aquatic life, becoming predators of ponds, especiallyephemeral pools which had no predatory fish. To breathe in water, flapsat the edge of the body developed rich tracheae in order to absorb oxygenfrom the water. These flaps became gills. Some of these gills were usedas fins for swimming. As the body grew larger after each molt, the fin-gills enlarged; those of the muscular thorax, especially on the second andthird segment, were largest. Amphibious adults could crawl out onvegetation and fall on prey, using the expanded gills as parachutes.

Precision of movement increased with the development of a musculararticulation and the parachute gill-flaps became wings. Dragonflies andmayflies have survived since the middle of the Carboniferous Periodfrom this stage.

The early members of this group all had nygma, or clear disc-shapedwing organs of unknown function that today are found only in the wingsof panorpoid (see page 37) and neuropteroid (see page 49) superorders.Most of the early nygma-bearing insects, other than dragonflies, evolvedsucking mouthparts, at least in the adult stage. They certainly fed on theprotein-rich developing cones of higher plants and may also have fedmosquito-like on the blood of the large basking labyrinthodont amphibiansof the middle Carboniferous Period.

Agnostus

LeptistheriaTriops

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evolution . . .

Symphylan

Dragonfly nymph

Paleodictyopteran

Silverfish

Megasecopteran

Proturan

Dipluran

BristletailSpringtail

Tiny shrimp-like animals

13

Meanwhile, also in the mid-Carboniferous, 325 million years ago, other insectsspecialized for terrestrial life under and on vegetation. The flanges of thethoracic segments enlarged to form shields, especially backwards, to protectthe soft upper surface of the flexible abdomen. In order to mate, these shieldflaps had to be articulated. They were probably used in courtship rituals assignaling devices and as parachutes during falls out of bushes. Webspinnersand angel flies have survived from this stage. None of these insects or theirderivatives had nygma.

About 315 million years ago in the late Carboniferous, formidable new predatorsappeared in the form of small reptiles. Insects with sluggish or uncontrolledflight were ready prey. A lot of large insects went extinct when the first reptilesappeared.

Forewings became modified as aerodynamic surfaces and hindwings becamelarge undulating pulsed sails, by enlargement of the rear edge. This happenedindependently in several different orders. Some cockroaches have simple wingsas do their termite and beetle derivatives. Others cockroaches have foldedvannal fans on the hindwing as do their mantis and cricket derivatives.Grasshoppers and stick insects have folded vannal fans of the hindwingcomposed of a combination of veins different than those in cockroaches.Stoneflies and earwigs have yet another configuration of the hindwing fan.

By 302 million years ago, during the late Carboniferous, some nygma-bearinginsects evolved a pupal stage and proliferated in the Permian to become thepanorpoid complex including snowskips, scorpionflies, fleas, caddis flies,moths, flies and twistwing flies. A second branch proliferated in the lateCarboniferous to become neuropteroids including snakeflies, dobson flies andlacewing flies.

Also by 270 million years ago, in early Permian time, some of the relatives ofangel flies developed piercing, then sucking mouthparts and survive today asbark lice, biting lice, sucking lice, true bugs, leafhoppers and thrips. A few leafhopper scale insects have achieved a pupa-like stage.

Also by Early Permian time, about 270 million years ago, some of the simple-winged cockroaches evolved a pupal stage, hard forewing cases and a patternof folding that permitted an extra long hindwing. These survive as beetles, theorder of animals that today is richest in species.

By 225 million years ago, during Triassic time, a group of parasitic neuropteroidinsects evolved a hooked wing-lock mechanism and became parasitic wasps.Some larvae switched from parasitism to eating leaves and became sawflies.Others developed a pronounced waist, setting the stage for the evolution ofbees and ants when the flowering plants evolved in the mid-Cretaceous Periodabout 100 million years ago.

Almost all the insect forms we know today had evolved by the time thedinosaurs appeared 220 million years ago. Beetles proliferated first, feedingon the high-protein pollen of conifers and later flowering plants. Flies, mothsand bees took advantage of the high-energy nectar produced by floweringplants that diversified in the mid-Cretaceous. The general diversity of insectssurvived the asteroid impact event at the end of the Cretaceous which is thoughtto have wiped out the dinosaurs. Indeed a species of carpenter ant and thesmoky brown cockroach survived this crisis, and are still with us today.

Herdinia

Eucaenus

Unfolding of earwighindwing

Psyllid

Cupedid beetle

Early wasp

Carpenter ant

Smoky brown cockroach

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evolution . . .

Snakefly

Early winged insect

Roach relative

Early scorpionfly

TELSONTAILS Order Protura 29th in diversity 8+ species in TexasThese tiny insects lack antennae and eyes. The longfront legs act as feelers. Parts of a large telsontailhave been found in 380-million-year-old rocks.

SYMPHYLANS Order Scolopendrellida 33rd in diversity 6+ species in Texas.Although they look like little centipedes, these animals have the same kind of head as other insects.They have the same kind of abdominal leglets and tubercle organs on their underside (see page10) as other wingless insects, and they spin silk.

14

Garden symphylan (sym-fie-lan)Symphylella texana in Family Scolopendrellidae. This white 24-legged centipede-like animal has a true insect head but no differentiatedthorax. The 7mm adult spins silk around the eggs and guards them. Hatchlings have 12 legsand add a pair at the back at each molt. Young and adults eat root hairs in rich organic earth.

Worm-like telsontailEosentomon vermiforme in Family Eosentomidae. This pale-yellow 6-legged animal has no antennae and uses its frontlegs as feelers. Needle-jaws and a beak-like lip allow feeding on rootcells deep underground. Hatchlings have an 8-segmented abdomenwith a telson. Another segment is added in front of the telson at eachof 3 molts. Only 1/10mm long, this speck-sized animal can berecognized by its weaving gait.

TPWPress 1999

NON-HEXAPOD INSECTS Classes Symphyla, Myrientomata and Entotrophi

Included here are survivors of the first kinds of insects that crawled onto land at least 400 millionyears ago. Three classes include three living orders.

Measurement Key

The size of each insect is given as thelength of the adult from the head tothe end of the abdomen (not includingany tail or appendages).

2mm = the width of a nickel coin25mm = almost an inch304mm = almost a foot

7mm

Folsoms campodean (camp-oh-dee-an)Campodea folsomi in Family Campodeidae. This white 6-legged 2-tailed animal has a body like a string ofbeads. The 4mm adult spins silk. The young are born with 6 legs.Young and adults eat mold or fungal hyphae and small worms inrich organic earth.

False earwigJapyx diversiunguis in Family Japygidae. This pale-yellow 6-legged animal has a pair of pincers on the abdomen. It lookslike a small wingless earwig. The 8mm adult places eggs on a silk stalk in an earthcavity it guards. Hatchlings lack pincers and are guarded by the mother. Youngand adults eat other soil arthropods.

CAMPODEANS Order Diplura 25th in diversity about 27+ species in Texas

These small white insects are sensitive to pesticides and other pollutants. Their presencein the soil is an indication of the health of the ecosystem.

more stuff . . .

Other springtails

SPRINGTAILS Order Collembola 9th in diversity 295+ species in TexasThe body is compact by fusion of segments in the abdomen. This provides stability during the hugeleaps performed using the spring apparatus. (See Pearly springtail below). Some springtails, likebutterflies, have ribbed scales that refract bright metallic colors, especially in species that live in flowersand feed on pollen. Springtails recycle leafmold.

HEXAPOD INSECTS Class Hexapoda (Includes all the remaining insects)

The earliest hexapod insects were small six-legged wingless forms that adapted to life under rocksat least 400-million years ago. Two subclasses include three living wingless orders. In two orders, thespringtails and bristletails, leverage of the jaws is weak because there is only one articulation of themandible with the head.

Forage fleaSminthurides violaceus in Family Sminthuridae. This is a violet-brown speckle-patterned globular insect. With a tiny head and a large furcula spring, it looks like minutejumping pea. The 1mm adults and young sometimes swarm by the billions in clover fields.

Pearly springtailPseudosinella violenta in Family Entomobryidae. This white insect has iridescent pearly-bluish scales. The 2mmadult has an abdomen of 6 compacted segments. The last pair ofleglets on the abdomen are lengthened to form a jacknife-spring,latched by a clasper under the body. Release of the clasper flingsthe insect high into the air where it may be blown away frompredators. The adult places eggs in a varnish capsule. Juveniles molt6 times. Young and adults feed on fungal hyphae, spores and bacteria.

Fungus fleaHypogastrura boletivora in Family Hypogastruridae. This blue-gray-violet insect is pale yellow underneath and coveredwith waterproof wax. The 1.5mm adult has an abdomen of 6compacted segments. The furcula spring is very short. Young andadults feed on fungal spores and hyphae and may be found onmushrooms and moldy leaves by the billions in winter.

15 TPWPress 1999

The female captures the male springtail to fertilize her egg.

Folsoms campodean4mm

1.5mm

2mm

1mm

Prairie bristletailMachilis variabilis in Family Machilidae. This 9mm silvery and brown speckle-patterned shrimp-shaped insect also skipsamong the pebbles of gravelly prairie. Itfeeds on devils dishrag algae and lichens.These insects may swarm by the millionsin winter.

Rock bristletailHypomachilodes texanus in Family Meinertellidae. This 18mm gray-and-black speckle-patterned shrimp-shaped insect has very long jumping legs at the end ofthe abdomen. It skips about on open rocky areas whereit feeds on lichens. Look for these insects on EnchantedRock in winter.

16TPWPress 1999

more stuff . . . BRISTLETAILS Order Machilida 30th in diversity 8+ species in Texas

Bristletails have a body round in cross section or flattened sideways like a shrimp.Fossil bristletails have been found in 390-million-year-old rocks.

SilverfishLepisma saccharina in Family Lepismatidae. This 19mm silver-scaled flat sinuousstreamlined insect runs from light in cool dampstorage buildings. It feeds on books and baskets.It has followed people out of the caves of Asiainto our houses all over the world.

FirebratThermobia domestica in Family Lepismatidae. This 15mm gray or brown speckle-patterned flat streamlined insectruns from light in hot dry storage buildings. It feeds on glue and paper.Originating in Asia, it now lives in houses all over the world.

STRONG-JAWED INSECTS Subclass Dicondylata (Includes all the remaining insects.)

At least 392 million years ago insects made their first great leap forward. The jawdeveloped a second articulation socket with the head. This allowed strong musclesto power a mandible with optimum leverage.

SILVERFISH Order Lepismida 28th in diversity 8+ species in Texas

Silverfish are primitive wingless insects, flattened top to bottom, like cockroaches.They are covered with hairs, some of which are enlarged to form scales that havea pearly or iridescent sheen. They occur in houses, rock shelters and under rocksin dry habitat. A fossil silverfish was found in 389 million-year-old rocks.

Insect designing andstory telling

Youve learned about theparts that make up aninsect. Now, take yourideas and develop a newspecies of insect.

On a sheet of paper or inyour journal, draw andtell the story of thediscovery of your insect.

Write about how youdiscovered it.

What were you doing atthe time of yourdiscovery?

Does your insect fly,walk or swim?

How does it develop?

What kind of food doesit eat?

Where does it live?

Does it travel greatdistances or stay in yourbackyard?

Draw an image that yourinsect might see from itshabitat.

Reddells subterraneansilverfish

Webspinner nymphwing development

17 TPWPress 1999

more stuff . . .

Male

Female

PRIMITIVE WINGED INSECTS Supraorder Polyneoptera

These insects have mouthparts adapted to solid food handling and chewing. Exceptin beetles, the young are little versions without or with incompletely developedwings. The major metamorphosis or structural change between embryo and insectoccurs just before hatching of the egg and the young live with and compete withthe adults for food. Fossils have been found in 325-million-year-old rocks.

HOMONEUROUS PROTORTHOPTERANS Superorder Embioidea

These primitive winged insects have the forewing and hindwing nearly the sameshape. The oldest fossils have been found in 325-million-year-old rocks.

WEBSPINNER FLIES Order Embiida 32nd in diversity 4+ species in Texas

These curious insects spin silk from glands on their forelegs. They live communallyunder bark or in leaf thatch of palms and yuccas. In some species, wingless femalesfeed on plants and winged males are predators. The wings develop gradually overseveral nymph stages, as backward extensions of the corners of the top shields ofthe middle and back segment of the thorax. Fossil webspinner flies have been foundin 260-million-year-old rocks.

Black webspinner flyOligotoma nigra in Family Oligotomidae. This 14mm brown-to-black beaded-bodied insect is foundunder the bark of dead postoak trees. Winged males retreatinto the tubes backwards, dragging their wings over theirheads behind them. They feed on bark and dead leaves andthe insects they find in them.

WINGED INSECTS Infraclass Alata (Includes all the remaining insects)

At least 325 million years ago, strong-jawed insects evolved wing flaps on thesecond and third segment of the thorax. This was the second great leap forwardfor insects. There are 6 strong tracheal tubes in a simple insect wing. These trachealtubes are located in blood passages, the finest of which form a delicate networkbetween the upper and lower skin of the wing. The wing membrane is thickenedover the tracheal tubes to form the wing veins. The branched veins act as strutssupporting the floppy wing membranes.

subcosta (Sc) radius (R)

media (M)

cubitus (Cu)postcubitus (PCu)

vannum (V)

Bluebottle fly

Bluebottle fly wing

The name of insect wing veins.Early pupa

Late pupa

AdultDevelopment of

tracheae in asilkmoth wing

scr

mcuPCu

v

scr

mcu

(PCu)v

scr

mcu

PCuv

LICE, BUGS and THRIPS Superorder Hemipteroidea

These insects have an enlarged front of the head behind which lies a powerfulmuscle attached to the back of the mouth for suction. Most have part of the mouthadapted for piercing; some have a pronounced beak for drawing in fluids.

BARKLICE Order Psocida 16th in diversity 123+ species in Texas

These ancient survivors have bulbous bodies and large heads with chewingmouthparts partially modified for piercing. Winged species fold the wings rooflikeover the body. Some spin silk and live communally. Others live in caves wherethey feed on scraps left by bats, and in libraries where cookie crumbs and librarypaste are their food. Fossil barklice have been found in 260-million-year-old rocks.

18

more stuff . . .

TPWPress 1999

Angel fly nymph

ANGEL FLIES Order Zoraptera 35th in diversity 1 species known in Texas

These tiny social insects have winged and wingless forms. They associatewith termites or earwigs and feed on their young, along with mites and fungus.They are one of the oldest groups of living insects, having survived at least318 million years.

Hubbards angel flyZorotypus hubbardi in Family Zorotypidae. This 2mm white-banded brown-to-black insect isfound in soft decayed wood and old sawdust piles inthe Big Thicket of East Texas.

Male

Female

Cave lousePsyllipsocus ramburii in Family Psyllipsocidae. This 3mm greenish gray louse is found in cavesin warm and tropical areas. It enters houses tofeed on dry protein such as dead insects.

Commom booklouseLiposcelis divinatorius in Family Liposcelidae. This 1.5mm pale-tan louse infests and eats books orother dry vegetable cellulose stored in humid places.

Stout barklousePeripsocus californicus in Family Peripsocidae. This 6mm black-banded clear-winged barklouseis found crawling on the trunks of trees duringdamp cool weather.

Finding wordsyouve learned

Find the words below.They can be up,down, forward,backward or diagonalwithin the puzzle.

CROPS

FOODP

LA

NT

S

PO

LL

EN

SAP

WOOD

FUNGIM O L D

CROPSFOODFUNGIMOLDPLANTSPOLLENSAPWOOD

CY

N T HI A

AN

B

K

S

RI

C H R DE

3mm

6mmDevelopmental stages

of a barklouse

Eggs

Nymphstages

Adult

Broadwinghopper

19

more stuff . . .

TPWPress 1999

BITING LICE Order Mallophaga 11th in diversity 400+ species in Texas

Found on mammals and birds, these lice feed on scraps of skin, hair or feathers.They have large toothed mandibles adapted to grinding. They may have evolvedfrom nest-dwelling barklice about a 100 million years ago.

Cattle biting louseBovicola bovis in Family Trichodectidae. This 2mm brown slender louse eats scraps of skin andfur on the hides of living cattle. It has followed humanmigration and colonization on domestic cows from India.

Slender duck-feather louseAnaticola crassicornis in Family Philopteridae. This 2.5mm reddish-brown slender louse eatsscraps of skin and feathers on ducks, especiallythe feral Muscovy ducks found in South Texas.

Chicken headlouseLipeurus heterographus in Family Philopteridae. This 1.5mm brown louse eats scraps of skin and featherson the heads of chickens. It has followed the spread ofdomestic chickens from India all over the world.

Leafhopper

Leafhopper dorsal view

LEAFHOPPERS Order Homoptera 6th in diversity 2700+ Texas species

These insects have strongly veined, clear, often glassy wings. The mouthparts forma beak towards the back of the head and are adapted for piercing and sucking plantsap. They frequently excrete excess body wax. This may be as a white powder,long streamers, or hard shells of shellac. Some exude sugar syrup or honeydewwith which they obtain the protection of ants. Fossil leafhoppers have been foundin 260-million-year-old rocks.

Broadwing hopperAcanalonia bivittata in Family Acanaloniidae. This 6mm green broadwinged net-veined leafhopper feeds sociallywith its waxy young near the tip of a growing shoot of many kindsof shrubs. Because of their broad wings and strong patterns, somefossil species have been mistaken for butterflies.

Horn hopperScolops sulcipes in Family Dictyopharidae. Like its relative the lantern fly, this 10mm brownleafhopper has an inflated face, extended foreward toform a horn. It is most often seen at lights at night.

Horn hopper6mm

10mm

2mmHen and chick

Horn hopper

Turkey louse

Where to put thepin in a specimen

Cicada nymph

Cicada face

Superbcicada

Spittlebug

20TPWPress 1999

more stuff . . .

Superb cicadaTibicen superbus in Family Cicadidae. This 50mm green cicada is common inthe heat of summer, buzzing in the treetops.When picked up under a light, the malessqueal but the females are silent.

Froghopper spittlebugLepyronia quadrangularis in Family Cercopidae. The nymphs of this insect suck the sap of plants andrelease a clear froth that hides them and keeps them fromdrying out. The 5.5mm brown-banded tan-colored adulthas a huge leap and resembles a tiny tree frog.

Buffalo treehopperStictocephala bisonia in Family Membracidae. This green thorn-shaped 11.5mm hopper feedson the sap of green twigs.

Painted leafhopperCicadella hieroglyphica in Family Cicadellidae. This 7mm bright-red leafhopper has black hieroglyphic-like marks on the head, red wings with white streaks anda yellow spot in the middle of the body. These hoppersare most common on willow.

Grape leafhopperErythroneura comes in Family Cicadellidae. This 5.5mm brown-speckled clear-wing leafhopper swarms ongrapevines in fall. 10-million-year-old fossils of this species are foundin South Texas. There are 369 other species in the same large genus.

Spittlebug

Spittlebug

50mmbody

5.5mm

Gulf black willowleaves

Adult cicada emergingfrom nymphal skin

5.5mmbody

Meadow cicada

7mm

21 TPWPress 1999

more stuff . . .

White fly adult

White fly larva

Clover greenflyfemale

Prickly pear

Japanese privet

Clover greenfly egg

Tomato-Potato psyllidParatrioza cockerelli in Family Psyllidae. Common on peppers and other nightshades, this4mm greenish-tan fly feeds on plant sap. Psyllidshave been common since Permian time, before thedinosaurs, some 260 million years ago.

Greenhouse whiteflyTrialeurodes vaporariorum in Family Aleyrodidae. These 1.5mm waxy-white broad-winged flieslook like tiny moths as they rise in a cloud fromligustrum and other shrubs.

Melon aphidAphis gossypii in Family Aphididae. This common 2.5mm green aphid feeds on the sap of cucumbers,melons, cotton and many other soft green plants. Winged males andfemales hatch only in winter. In summer, males are not produced andthe parthenogenic females give birth to pregnant young. In this wayhuge populations are built up rapidly. The third generation may beseen through the translucent back of the summer female.

Grape phylloxeraPhylloxera vitifoliae in Family Phylloxeridae. This 1mm white aphid-like bug was accidentallyintroduced from Texas into Europe in the 19thcentury where it almost wiped out the winebusiness. The old vinyards of Europe were savedby grafting the European heirloom grapes ontophylloxera-resistant American rootstock.

Cochineal bugDactylopius coccus in Family Dactylopiidae. This 2mm flat waxy pink bug lives on prickly-pear cactus. Itexudes a protective coat of white wax filaments. In Mexico theseinsects are gathered to make the edible red dye cochineal.

1mm

Grape phylloxeraunderside

1.5mm

Chinch bug nymph

Sycamore lace bug

Lace bug underside

Ambush bug

Chinch bug adult

Burrowing bug

Lace bug nymph

22

more stuff . . . TRUE BUGS Order Hemiptera 5th in diversity 1600+ species in Texas

Almost all true bugs have the base of the forewing thickened to form a wing case,while the outer portion is veined and clear. The wings clip tightly shut with alatching mechanism on the edge. Hindwings are large, membranous and welladapted for driving flight. The mouthparts form a beak at the front of the head andare adapted for piercing and sucking plant sap or animal blood. Fossil true bugshave been found in 245-million-year-old rocks.

Burrowing bugPangeus bilineatus in Family Cydnidae. This 5mm shiny black beetle-like bug is common in the soil of forests. Adultsand nymphs feed on sap from the roots of trees.

Yucca plant bugLeptoglossus phyllopus in Family Coreidae. This brightly patterned brown, pale-yellow-and-red-spotted20mm plant bug belongs to a mimicry group that includes thepolistes paper wasp (see page 54) as model and a clearwing moth(see page 39) as mimic.

Chinch bugBlissus leucopterus in Family Lygaeidae. In an effort to eliminate this black-and-cream-colored 4mm feeder onSan Augustine grass, a lot of poison has been poured on lawns and beenwashed off into our streams and rivers.

Beautiful lace bugCorythuca bellula in Family Tingidae. This tan-colored net-winged 5mm bug sidles acrossleaves of forest trees. Adults and nymphs feed on sap.

Assassin bugPhymata erosa in Family Phymatidae. This 11mm green, yellow-and-black patched bugwaits on flowers to pounce on butterflies, its prey.

TPWPress 1999

Antenna

Ocelli Compound eye Shield

Beak(needle)

Forewing

Horny p

art

Transpar

ent part

5mm

4mm

4mm

5mm

5mm

11mm

23

Top view ofwheel bug

more stuff . . .

Kissing bugReduvius personatus in Family Reduviidae. This 13mm black-and-orange bug sucksblood from mice, rats and domestic animals.

Threadleg bug

Water strider

Underside ofbackswimmer

BackswimmerNotonecta undulata in Family Notonectidae. This green-and-brown 18mm water bug looks silvery from the large air bubbleit carries between its legs. This bubble acts as a float so the insect swims upsidedown. One pair of long legs are used as oars to row the bug along.

Wheel bugArilus cristatus in Family Reduviidae. This 40mm dark-brown predatory bugmay be seen on warm days in winter flyingbetween trees or searching for insect prey. Ithas what looks like half a cogwheel on itsback. It really stinks.

Conenose bloodsuckerTriatoma sanguisuga in Family Reduviidae. This 22mm brown bug with yellow-and-black-banded abdomen lurksin old buildings, rockpiles and caves. This insect disperses at night tosuck blood from sleeping people and domestic animals. In South Americathey carry Chagas Disease, a kind of sleeping sickness common in horses.

Water striderGerris remigius in Family Gerridae. Using pontoons formed from hairs on the feet, this18mm gray-black skinny bug skates across the surfaceof ponds. It pounces on insect prey which it drains ofblood with its beak.

Giant waterbugLethocerus americanus in Family Belostomatidae. Also known as electric-light bug, this 85mm greenish-gray-and-brown flat insect is attracted to lights at night. It can stab a painfulbite if cornered. It is normally aquatic. The female lays her eggs onthe back of the male who keeps them safe until they hatch.

Water boatmanArctocorixa alternata in Family Corixidae. This yellow-and-brown-banded 8mm water bug often swarms in desertpools. It swims right side up and usually has fine cross-striped forewings. Itis eaten by some Native Americans.

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40mm

85mm

8mm

Where to put thepin in a speciman

13mm

24

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Developmental stagesof the redbanded thrips

Pear thrips

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Hog louseHaematopinus suis in Family Haematopinidae. This dark brown, wide, flat 4mm louse is foundon hogs. From Africa or Asia, it has spread world-wide with human migration. American javelinascarry different species.

THRIPS Order Thysanoptera 15th in diversity 197+ species in Texas

Even adult thrips are tiny. Their wings are reduced sticks fringed with long hairson which they are carried by the wind. Juvenile thrips and wingless adults maymove from plant to plant by hitching a ride on another insect. Most feed on plants.A few are pests. Some beneficial species feed on mites. Others serve as food forhummingbirds who gather them in flowers with their barbed tongues. Fossilthrips have been found in 250-million-year-old rocks.

Orange thripsScirtothrips citri in Family Thripidae. This 3.5mm black-and-pale-yellowcommon thrips of native and crop citrusplants is notorious for infecting hostplants with virus diseases.

Flower thripsFrankliniella tritici in Family Thripidae. Often a pest of crops, this black-and-cream 1.5mminsect may occur in populations of billions.

SUCKING LICE Order Anoplura 26th in diversity 24+ Texas species

These minute flattened tick-like insects have piercing mouthparts adapted fordrawing blood. The feet are tiny clamps for holding fast to hairs. The head isvery small. Each species is adapted to feed on one or a few closely related hostanimals. Some hosts, such as people, have several species of louse specialized tofeed on them. Fossil sucking lice have been found on frozen ground squirrels inancient permafrost.

Human head lousePediculus humanus in Family Pediculidae. Black-and-brown 5mm cooties sometimes show up at school and pass fromhead to head among children. The large white eggs are laid attached to hair andare called nits. It has spread world-wide on its human host.

5mm

1.5mm

Javelinas

Female

Eggs

Adult

Nymphstages

Eggs Nymphstages

Adult

25

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TPWPress 1999

Common earwigForficula auricularia in Family Forficulidae. This 15mm chestnut-brown-and-black species accompanied settlers from Europe and is found throughout Texas whereverthere are gardens. It lives under rocks, boards and flowerpotswhere there is a chance of moisture. Food is mostly deadand decaying organic matter but occasionally young tendershoots are eaten in the garden.

HOMONEUROUS PROTORTHOPTERAN ALLIES Superorder Perloidea

These insects have many crossveins in the wing. The pleated fan of the hindwingis composed of a different set of veins than found in grasshoppers and theirrelatives or in cockroaches and their relatives. Fossil homoneurous protorthopteraninsects of the extinct order Paraplecoptera occur in 290-million-year-old rocksin North Texas.

EARWIGS Order Dermaptera 24th in diversity 8+ species in TexasEarwigs have nothing to do with human ears. The name comes from their habitof congregating to feed on flies in the flower of devils ear, the plant now knownas jack-in-the-pulpit. The end of the abdomen bears cerci formed into pincers.These are used in courtship and may also be used for defense. Fossil earwigshave been found in 200-million-year-old rocks.

Winter stoneflyHydroperla crosbyi in Family Capniidae. This 16mm lemon-yellow-and-black stonefly is one of thefew found outside East Texas. The aquatic nymphs live infissures of the Edwards Aquifer, coming to the surface foremergence of the adults. Adults are found in winter andspring in rocky areas, often far from surface streams.

STONEFLIES Order Perlida 21st in diversity 76+ species in Texas

The young nymphs of these insects develop in cold-water streams where theyfeed on small aquatic arthropods, often taking more than one year to develop.Most adults do not feed and have short lives from 2 to 3 weeks. The wing actionis not powerful and does not permit sustained flight.

Ring-legged earwigEuborellia annulipes in Family Labiduridae. This 12mm dark-brown insect with yellow-ringed legs isa native species found where grain is stored, in packrat nestsor in grain elevators. It feeds on the young and dead of insectpests of grain.

GRASSHOPPERS AND THEIR RELATIVES Superorder Orthopteroidea

These insects typically have many long parallel veins in the forewing. The back ofthe hindwing is expanded as a pleated fan. Fossils have been found in 300-million-year-old rocks.

15mm

ADULTBUGSCOCOONCOMMONEGGINSECTLARVANYMPHPUPA

B G

CUA D L T

TGU S

N

N

MH

N

OM

MO

L A R V AA

PUP

Y

PIN

SE

CGE

OCOC

EL E N A

V Y

AP RI L

T

Finding wordsyouve learned

Find the words below.They can be up,down, forward,backward or diagonalwithin the puzzle.

Riparian earwig

Ancientprotelytropteran

Ancientparaplecopteran

26TPWPress 1999

more stuff . . .

Which are the two identical

grasshoppers?

a

b

c

d

e

Walking stick150mm

WALKING STICKS Order Phasmida 19th in diversity 13+ species in Texas

Not only do the adults resemble twigs, grass and leaves, but the eggshell is alsodisguised as a seed. Large species are rarely seen because they live in the tops oftrees, but sometimes may be found knocked to the ground after a storm. They feedon leaves. Some females reproduce by parthenogenesis, that is without matingwith males. Females of other species may remain mated for several days. Fossilwalking stick insects are found in 290-million-year-old rocks.

Prairie alligatorAnisomorpha ferruginea in Family Anisomorphidae. Greenish-brown 65mm adults of this species maybe found walking on trees and on the sides of housesin fall and winter. Mating pairs of large females andtiny males may stay coupled for several days. Whendisturbed, they spray an acrid fluid from glandsbehind the head. Be careful, they aim for the eyes.

Longwing plains grasshopperDissosteira longipennis in Family Oedipodidae. Adults of this 49mm species are found on prairies where males hover,clattering their wings in competition for territory and mates. They feedon herbaceous plants, mostly grasses. These insects have brown mottled-tan forewings and cream-tipped black hindwings.

GRASSHOPPERS Order Orthoptera 8th in diversity 460+ species in Texas

Lengthened hindlegs with strong muscles in the femur permit powerful jumpingby these insects. Nymphs use this jump to escape. Adults use the jump to launchinto a driving flight. The front wing is semi-fixed and the hindwing fan is wavedfor propulsion. Males sing by bowing the rigid forewing with a ratchet located onthe inner side of the femur of the hindleg. Fossil grasshoppers occur in 220-million-year-old rocks.

American locustSchistocerca americana in Family Catantopidae. The 95mm black-speckled tan-and-yellow adultsof this species and five others are especially commonin fall and winter in the Post Oak woodlands ofCentral Texas. Unlike their close relatives, the locustsof the Bible, they do not normally swarm. They feedon most plants, living or dead.

Antenna

Ocelli

Compound eye

Foreleg Midleg

Hindleg(cut off) 3 foot joints on all legs

Spiracles

Digging tail organFor

ewing

Hindwi

ng

Wings(cut off)

Hindleg

Studs forming bow or ratchet

Ear

Crown

95mmbody

65mm

49mmbody

American locust

Where to put thepin in a specimen

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Broadwing katydidMicrocentrum rhombifolium in Family Tettigoniidae. This green 60mm leaf-winged cricket is often heardin the treetops. It is seen only when blown to the groundor dropped by predators, where it is soon devouredby fire ants. These crickets eat leaves in the treetops.

ROACHES AND THEIR RELATIVES Superorder Blattopteroidea

These insects have many-branched veins in the forewing. The fan of thehindwing includes different veins than in the grasshoppers and their relatives.

CRICKETS Order Grylloptera 10th in diversity 271+ Texas species

Unlike true grasshoppers, crickets have a set of strong crop teeth for grindingfood, and most crickets are fierce predators or omnivores. Sound is produced byfiling a ratchet on a wing vein over a vein on the other wing. There is usually avibrating membrane near the base of the wing to magnify the sound. Like mantises,crickets have ears on their legs. Large sword-like ovipositors place cricket eggsinto the ground or under bark of plants. Fossil crickets have been found in 316-million-year-old rocks.

MudhopperEllipes minuta in Family Tridactylidae. Adults of this 6mm yellow-brown species may be found onwet sticky yellow clay around pools in the limestone regions ofTexas. They live in burrows in which they survive summerdrought. They have spine-pontoons on the hind feet which theyuse to walk on water. They feed on green slime algae.

Mexican grouse locustParatettix mexicanus in Family Tetrigidae. The brown-white-and-tan-speckled 12mm adults of thisspecies are especially common in fall and winter on thegravelly floor of Post Oak woodland in Central Texas.They feed on lichens and plant detritus.

Rough-backed pygmy grasshopperParatettix rugosus in Family Tetrigidae. This brown-speckled 10mm grasshopper has tiny forewingflaps and large clear hindwings. It is found frequently on theground in open woodland along streams.

Antenna

Ocellus

Compound eye

Ear

Foreleg Midleg

Hindle

g

4 foot joints on all legs

Sword ovipositor(female)

Forewing

Ready-to-jump position

The leap

The float

Ready-to-land position

60mm

Grasshoppermouth parts

Asymmetricmandibles

Maxilla

Labium

10mm

12mm

Prairie-ant crickethitching a ride on an ant

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Eggs

Mole cricket

Nymph

Conehead katydidNeoconocephalus triops in Family Tettigoniidae. This 68mm prairie cricket is common all year in gardens andmeadows. Summer individuals are green, winter individualsare tan colored. It has strong black jaws in a red mouth andhas a strong bite. Although its main food is grass, it may catchand eat other insects. It produces a hissing scratchy call byrubbing the wings together. It is often attracted to light.

Club-tailed camel cricketCeuthophilus nodulosus in Family Ceuthophilidae. This 24mm wingless brown-mottled tan cricket lives in cavesand hollow trees. It is frequent in basements, cool sheds andprivies. It feeds on fungus, dead insects and decaying plants.

Prairie-ant cricketMyrmecophila nebrascensis in Family Myrmecophilidae. This 1.5mm pale-gray cricket lives in ant nests. The cricketfeeds on dead insect matter in the ant nest and is also fed onregurgitated food by the ants who, in return, receive specialchemical secretions from their guest.

House cricketAcheta domestica in Family Gryllidae. This 16mm tan cricket accompanied humans out of Africa andthen spread throughout the world with European colonists. Itlives in houses where it requires minimal food and moisture.Ancient legend warns of an impending death in the house, whena cricket trills in the hearth.

Green tree cricketOecanthus fultoni in Family Oecanthidae. This 17mm pale-green musician of summer and fall comes tohouse lights. The timing of trills changes with air temperature.The trill frequency at any locality may be calibrated and used asan audible thermometer. Eggs are inserted under the bark oftwigs by the female who uses her sword-shaped ovipositor.

Mole cricketNeocurtilla hexadactyla in Family Gryllotalpidae. This 31mm grayish yellow-tan subterranean cricket used to beconsidered an agricultural pest for the damage done by nymphs tothe roots of crops. Pesticides and the attraction of adults to commerciallighting at night has led to a sharp decline in populations. It isconsidered an endangered species in some midwestern states.

Female

Male conehead cricket

1.5mm

Greentree cricket

68mm

Female

Adult

Male

31mm

Jerusalem cricket

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Adobe termiteGnathamitermes tubiformans in Family Termitidae. Colonies of these 8mm yellowish termites occur in drypastures and desert grassland where they may cause thebald or discolored spots. They construct earth tubes upthe outside of surviving dead and dying vegetation, whichthey eat. They are also found living in dry cow dung.

TERMITES Order Termitida 20th in diversity 19+ species in Texas

These small, soft-bodied, pale-colored social insects can digest wood with the helpof single-celled organisms that live in their gut. They are found in dead trees, inbuildings, in the soil, in earth mounds and in cardboard structures of their ownmaking. Fossil termites have been found in 98-million-year-old rocks.

Blackhead termiteNasutitermes corniger in Family Nasutiermitidae. These 7mm dark-brown termites manufacture globular nests of corrugated cardboard on vegetation high above theground. From a distance these look like heads or like mammals sleeping in the trees. Bacterial digestion of cellulose inthe gut of these termites contributes more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than do cattle which digest cellulose in thesame way. In Texas, this species is found only in tropical woodland along the lower Rio Grande, but it ranges far intoSouth America.

Common termiteReticulitermes claripennis in Family Reticulitermidae. These 7mm black-and-cream clear-winged termitesnormally live in dead roots of mesquite and other trees.With these habits, they, of course, will infest any housewhere woodwork touches the ground.

Blackhead termitesoldier

Blackhead termiteworker

Adobe termitequeen

Common termitesoldier

Worker

Adobe termitemale

Adobe termiteworker

Find the trail through the maze.

Out

Queen

Egg Nymph stages

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Female

MANTISES Order Manteida 22nd in diversity 74+ species in Texas

These insects are proficient hunters. They watch the eyes, even of large animals.They will track your eyes as you walk behind them while only moving their head.The spiny forelegs shoot out to grasp prey and crush it. They nibble on the tornbody of their food with precise mouthparts. The order is less than 80 million yearsold and evolved from a superfamily of cockroaches.

Mediterranean mantisIris oratoria in Family Mantidae. This 54mm green or brown mantis startles predators by suddenly openingits wings to display the large eyespots on the hindwings. It was importedand introduced in 1933 to control pests in cotton fields.

Little brown mantisLitaneutria minor in Family Pyrgomantidae. The 23mm gray adults are found on dry vegetation where they wait for insectprey to land. Eggs are laid in a small case of dried protein foam made by themother. The tiny nymphs disperse, most of them not surviving to adulthood.

Bordered mantisStagmomantis limbata in Family Mantidae. This 71mm green mantis is often found among sunflowerswaiting for butterflies and other insects to land. It constructs aprotein-plastic foam case around the egg mass in which the eggssurvive the winter, protected from parasites and predators.

71mm

CLIMBERCRAWLERDIGGERJUMPERHOLDERRUNNERSIGNALSWIMMERWALKER

Male

W

V

AR

I L

J M

AC R W

RRU P

G

A R VA

UP I

E

ER A L

M

W

RRL E

R

NN

E

DI

G

C M

S E

UL

MB

EK

HOLD

S I G N A L R

Finding wordsyouve learned

Find the words below.They can be up,down, forward,backward or diagonalwithin the puzzle.

Horned ground mantis

Face

Carolina mantis

Female Male

Bolls sandroachArenivaga bolliana in Family Polyphagidae. Red-speckled gray-brown 30mm adult males fly to light insummer in Central Texas. Other related species occur in Westand South Texas. The downy females have no wings andburrow in the dust under houses and in natural rock shelterswhere they feed on packrat droppings.

31 TPWPress 1999

Leafcutter-ant-guest roachmale

Bolls sandroach

Underside

Topside

Smoky brown cockroachPeriplaneta fuliginosa in Family Blattidae. The 48mm adults may wander into houses but are much more common outdoors.Nymphs live in accumulations of damp leaves in gutters or knotholes of hollowtrees. The young eat fungus and animal droppings. The dark-walnut-brown adultseat moist decaying matter. This species ranges from Florida to Austin and alsooccurs in southern Japan. A 72-million-year-old fossil of this species has beenfound at a dinosaur and redwood fossil locality in Montana. This may be theoldest known living animal species. Respect that roach when you meet it!

Dark wood roachParcoblatta pensylvanica in Family Pseudomopidae. Pale-bordered black 21mm adults are found under leavesin woodland along rivers. A fossil of this old species hasbeen found in 38-million-year-old volcanic ash beds.

Meadow roachPseudomops septentrionalis in Family Pseudomopidae. Tan 19mm adults are found in daytime on meadow foliage, especiallyalong streams, in late spring and early summer. This, our prettiestcockroach is black with an orange shield over the head and a yellowmargin to the wings.

Leafcutter-ant-guest roachAttaphila fungicola in Family Attaphilidae. Adults are found up to 15 feet underground in the fungus garden chambersof the leafcutter ant. Young individuals may ride to a new colony on the backsof their hosts. This tan 2.5mm roach was discovered 12 feet underground ina building excavation in Austin in 1904.

COCKROACHES Order Blattoptera 14th in diversity 30+ species in Texas

Although most cockroaches are winged, they rely mainly on quick legs to dartout of danger. They flourish anywhere there is food, moisture and warmth. Roachesadapted to living in houses have oily bodies. They carry bacteria in this oil tocondition the food they run over. They also mark their territory with strong odorswe find foul. Other roaches living in the wild have clean waxed bodies coveredwith velvet down and are not unpleasant at all. Fossil roaches occur in 316-million-year-old rocks.

Male

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German cockroachcarrying egg case

Life spanAmerican cockroach

100-500 days

Brownbanded cockroach115-136 days

German cockroach90-200 days

Giant cockroach300-600 days

Oriental cockroach316-533 days

Smoky brown cockroach191-586 days

Antenna

Pronotum Forewing

Cerci

HindlegMidlegFrontleg

Thorax Abdomen

Compound eye

Simple eye

Mouthparts

2.5mm

30mm

21mm

19mm

2.5mm

Leafcutter-ant-guestroach

Female

Female

Say people who have eatenthem Cockroaches taste

like shrimp.

Mottled reticulated beetleCupes concolor in Family Cupesidae. Found under the bark of dead trees, this 11.5mm brown beetlehas changed little since its family first appeared in the Permian,some 250 million years ago.

Splendid tigerbeetleCicindela splendida in Family Cicindelidae. A beautiful glossy green 15mm beetle with cream-fleckedcopper-red wing cases found running over sandy roadsin pine and oakwoods. The subterranean larvae use theirhead and thorax for a trapdoor.

Telephone pole beetleMicromalthus debilis in Family Micromalthidae. This 2mm brown fly-like beetle has several unusual kinds of larvae whichmay produce pupae and adults, or may by parthenogenesis give birth to morelarvae. They are found in rotting wood.

BEETLES Superorder Coleopteroidea

These hard-shelled roach-like insects have made the third great leap forward ininsect evolution they have developed a pupal stage. Larvae live very differentlyfrom adults and do not compete with them for food. Metamorphosis or major changein body plan occurs between pupa and adult. This separation of larvae from adultsis such an asset to insect livelihood that a pupal stage evolved three different timesin different groups of insects.

BEETLES Order Coleoptera the most diverse order 18000+ species in Texas

As in earwigs and true bugs, at least part of the forewing of beetles is a hard shellused to protect the hindwing. As in earwigs, the hindwing is longer than the forewingwing cover called elytron and must be cross-folded to be stowed away. Unlikeearwigs, however, the wing is not pleated but rolled and is cross-folded. Likecockroaches, beetles have well-developed chewing mouthparts. Beetles have oneor more kinds of larva per species and a pupal stage. They are scavengers, omnivores,carnivores, herbivores, burrowing miners, and wood borers. They have survivedfor at least 260 million years. Although beetles are often grouped with all the otherinsects that have a pupal stage, they are structurally closest to their roach relatives.

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Antenna

Compound eye

Wing cover or case (elytron)

Foreleg

Midleg

Hindleg

5 foot jointson all legs

Abdomen

Pygidium

TrochanterCoxa

FemurTibia

Labial PalpMaxillary Palp

2mm

Developmental stagesof the telephone pole

beetle

Jaws:

Circulionoid larva

Cerambycoid larva

Caraboid larva

Adult

Carolina tiger beetle

Snail-eating beetle

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more stuff . . .Searcher beetleCalosoma scrutator in Family Carabidae. A foul-smelling beautiful glossy green 36mm beetlewith iridescent blue-and-copper trim. This voraciouspredator eliminates cutworms and other caterpillars.

Large ground beetlePasimachus punctulatus in Family Carabidae. This 30mm glossy black beetle is seen running over open ground even inhot sunny weather. It preys on armyworms and tent caterpillars.

Small ground beetleHarpalus caliginosus in Family Carabidae. Found under clumps of short grass, this black11mm beetle is a predator of cutworms.

Cornseed beetleAgonoderus pallipes in Family Carabidae. Found eating germinating grain, this 6.5mmblack-and-yellow beetle often flies to light.

Crawling water beetlePeltodytes pedunculatus in Family Haliplidae. Found in puddles and streams, this 3.5mmblack-spotted yellow beetle crawls over aquaticplants. The larva eats small water animals.Adults fly from pond to pond.

Predaceous diving beetleDytiscus marginicollis in Family Dytiscidae. Sometimes called water tigers, the adult and their larvae are voraceouspredators that take minnows and tadpoles as well as insect prey. Theblack color of the 30mm beetle has a greenish oily sheen.

Bronzy large whirlygigDineutus assimilis in Family Gyrinidae. This 11mm flat bronzy-black beetle scuds across the water surface ofponds. The eyes are specialized with the top half of each eye adaptedto see above water and the lower half below water.

Water scavenger beetle

Water scavenger beetleHydrous triangularis in Family Hydrophilidae. This 48mm streamlined black beetle and its larva feeds on decayinganimal and plant detritus. Flying from pond to pond, these beetles are oftenattracted to light. Underneath, they have a strong double-spiked keel. Theirfossils are abundant with mastodon remains in the tar pits of Los Angeles.

TPWPress 199948mm

6.5mm

30mm

Bombardier beetle

Scarites beetle

Colliurus beetle

36mm

11mm

Flathead appletree borer beetle

Pupa

Larva

Sawtoothed grainbeetle

Pupa

Larva

Black carpet beetle

False stinkbeetleEleodes tricostata in Family Tenebrionidae. Seen crossing roads in hot weather before rain, this 18.5mm satin blackbeetle stands on its head when disturbed and releases a foul-smellingoily repellant.

Eyed elaterAlaus oculatus in Family Elateridae. This is a 37mm black click beetle with a striking pattern ofa white waxy coating. When placed on its back on a flat surface,it will flip over with a sharp crack of the body. Larvae bore indecaying elm trees and adults are usually found wanderingon the trunks of dead trees.

Flathead apple tree borer beetleChrysobothrys femorata in Family Buprestidae. This is a flat 15mm bronze beetle with a copper and greenish sheen,found on and under bark. The larvae eat their way through the deador dying inner bark leaving twisted flat galleries filled with their frass.

Black carpet beetleAttagenus piceus in Family Dermestidae. This 7.5mm black beetle and its black-haired larva live in and eat carpets thathave stains or residues of soluble organic matter. It is an Old-World cave speciesthat followed humans into houses around the world.

Sawtoothed grain beetleOryzaephilus surinamensis in Family Cucujidae. This 4mm elongated chestnut-brown beetle is found in stored foods andvegetable products. This is another Old-World species that has followedhumans out of rock shelters into houses around the world.

Appletwig borer beetleAmphicerus hamatus in Family Bostrichidae. This toothed black 21mm beetle bores in twigs of fruit trees andgrapevines. It frequently flies to light.

Larva

Sexton beetle

Sexton beetleNicrophorus marginatus in Family Silphidae. This 21mm orange-and-black-banded beetle is attracted to the smellof dead animals. A number of beetles excavate earth from under thebody, lowering it into the ground. They lay their eggs on this larvalfood supply before covering it with earth.

Spotted rove beetleStaphylinus maculosus in Family Staphylinidae. A velvety brown 18.5mm beetle with spots, thisinsect is attracted to decaying animals where itfeeds on the other insects feeding on the carrion.

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21mm

4mm

Adult

37mm

15mm

Junebeetle

Female

Hercules beetle

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LarvaLadybird beetle

Pupa

Ladybird beetlewing

Mexican bean beetle

Pupa

Larva

Adult

Ladybird beetleHippodamia convergens in Family Coccinellidae. Red with black spots and yellow dashes on the thorax, this 7mm beetle is a gardenfavorite. Larvae and adults feed primarily on aphids. Spread by mail from gardenstores, this species is found almost everywhere. In winter, it congregates on mountaintopsor ceilings in masses of hundreds to thousands of individuals, waiting for spring. Thecombined strength of the foul-tasting body fluids is a deterrent to predators.

Hercules beetleDynastes tityus in Family Scarabaeidae. This pale milky-green black-spotted69mm beetle with the over-and-underhorns is becoming scarce. The j-shapedgrub larvae live for a number of years inlarge hollow oak trees in old growthwoodland. This habitat is vanishing. Thefemale is black, without horns.

JunebeetlePhyllophaga fervida in Family Scarabaeidae. This soft-brown 27mm beetle flies to light by the thousands. Thej-shaped grub larva is familiar to gardeners. It feeds on roots of treesand shrubs. Adult beetles feed on leaves.

Ironclad beetleZopherus haldemani in Family Tenebrionidae. Seen gathered at fungus on fallen trees, this knobby white-on-black28mm beetle is a Texas favorite. The exoskeleton is so hard it must bedrilled to pin a specimen.

Red-and-black dung beetleAphodius fimetarius in Family Scarabaeidae. This 8.5mm black-and-brick-red beetle flies tolight. It can be found in pastures burrowing infresh cow dung where it lays its eggs.

Painted hickory borer longhorn beetleCyllene caryae in Family Cerambycidae. Jet black with fine yellow lines, this 18mm beetle reminds us ofa wasp, especially when it buzzes in flight. The larvae burrowunder the bark of dead and dying hickory trees.

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Junebeetle

7mm

27mm

Male

69mm

Grub

Adult

28mm

Adult

Male

Developmental stages ofthe Coloradopotato beetle

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Elephant billbuglarva

Colorado potato beetleLeptinotarsa decemlineata in Family Chrysomelidae. This yellow-and-black-striped 12mm beetle manages to find potato plants wherever they are planted.The black-spotted dull-red hump-backed grubs feed on potato, tomato, egplant, horsenettle and othernightshade plants.

Plum curculioConotrachelus nenuphar in Family Curculionidae. This gray-streaked dark-brown 6mm beetle is common in winter. Thegrubs feed in plums, cherries, peaches, almonds and apples. It is the mostcommon worm found in apples.

Spotted cucumber beetleDiabrotica duodecimpunctata in Family Chrysomelidae. This black-spotted pale-green 9mm beetle is often seen flyinginto gardens in spring and fall. The larvae prefer melon, squashand cucumber but will eat new green shoots of almost any plant.

Imbricated snout beetleEpicaerus imbricatus in Family Curculionidae. This gray-and-black-mottled 8mm beetle with an obvioussnout lives in meadows and prairies where it feeds on budsand young leaves. The larvae feed on grass roots.

Elephant billbugCalendra zeae in Family Curculionidae. This shiny black long-snouted 9mm beetle chews holes in the youngleaves of corn and related grasses. It is common in summer along streams.

Shothole borer beetleScolytus rugulosus in Family Scolytidae. These are 4.5mm black beetles with a minute white-dotted pattern that emerge from tiny shot holes inthe bark of trees. The larvae make elaborate branchinggalleries just under the bark.

Cottonwood borer longhorn beetlePlectrodera scalator in Family Cerambycidae. This white-patterned black 40mm beetle is often found on the trunksof cottonwood trees in midsummer. The larvae bore in the wood ofliving cottonwoods.

PupaShothole borer beetle

Larva

Larva

Pupa

Eggs

Larva

Pupa

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Developmental stages ofthe spotted cucumber

beetle

Shothole borer beetlesideview

12mm

9mm

8mm

9mm

6mm

4.5mm

Plum curculio

Jaw

Adult

Shothole borer beetletop view

Where to put thepin in a specimen

Male

37

Mexican stylopsTriozocera mexicana in family Stylopidae. This 2mm black and cream colored insect has forewings reducedto tiny stabilizing clubs and hindwings enlarged. Females looklike tiny bedbugs. Larvae run free when first hatched but becomeinternal parasites of silverfish and firebrats. Pupation is in the liveor dead host.

NYGMATE INSECTS Supraorder Telomerida (Includes all the remaining insects.)

The early members of all the orders contained in this grouping had a hindwingsimilar to the forewing, and on the wing surface were circular organs called nygma,of unknown function. A few of their descendants still carry these organs.

SNOWSKIPS Order Raphioptera 36th in diversity 0+ species in Texas

None of these have yet been found in Texas, making this the only living insect ordernot yet known from the state. Most living species are of the genus Boreas. These5mm-long black insects probably occur near the top of the Davis or GuadalupeMountains. They should be looked for hopping around on snow or moss on a dampday in winter. In the Rocky Mountains, there are several black or brown species ofthese vegetarian relatives of the scorpionflies. The order has survived for the last300 million years.

SCORPIONFLIES Order Panorpida 27th in diversity 23+ species in Texas

Male scorpionflies have an upturned abdomen with a bulbous end that resemblesa scorpion tail. When trapped, they feign a wasp-like stinging motion but are quiteharmless. The spiny caterpillar is a predator and scavenger of other insects in leaflitter. The pupa is moth-like. Adults capture other insects on which they feed withtheir beaked chewing mouthparts. Scorpionfly relatives have survived for nearly270 million years.

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Larva

Pupa

Mexican stylops

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THE PANORPOID COMPLEX Superorder Panorpoidea

These insects have caterpillar larvae and a pupal stage. Well-known members arefleas, moths, butterflies and flies. The metamorphosis or total rearrangement ofanatomy occurs in the pupal stage. The caterpillar can be thought of as a hatchedembryo, adapted for feeding. Larvae live in different places than the adults andfeed on different food. Larvae do not compete with adults and much largerpopulations can be supported in the same habitat. Fossil panorpoids have beenfound in 300